The present invention relates to an improved sensing device for capturing cardiac output (S1 and S2) and acoustic and vibratory outputs from arterial blood flow off the chest and appendages.
There are many types of sensors, transducers and pickups used in general industrial applications. Several are specifically designed to capture heart sounds and body noises. One such sensor or pickup for heart sounds is a condenser microphone. This type of microphone is specifically designed for 2-D phonocardiography systems for capturing heart sounds off the human chest for interpretation.
Other prior art devices include accelerometers and piezoelectric crystal devices for capturing low frequency vibrations off the human chest as an indication of heart muscle damage. Apexcardiography, vectorcardiography and seismocardiograph equipment all use probes to capture signals off the flesh.
One of the inherent drawbacks of these prior art devices is the fact that they rely on rigid metal or ceramic sensors which do not conform to the curves, appendages and/or body hair of a subject. This makes any type of integral mechanical coupling very difficult. As a result, the efficiency and thus the accuracy of the sensor is greatly diminished and critical heart sound energy, which is an integral part of the detection and diagnosis of heart disease, is lost.
Some prior art sensors, for this purpose and other industrial applications, are formed by accelerometers and piezoelectric crystals epoxied onto appendages of the body. None of these sensors however has a desirable set of pliable conformance characteristics. Still further none of these known sensors utilize quick connect and disconnect leads on the sensor for electrical lead connection.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sensing device for capturing acoustic and vibratory energies, caused by turbulent blood flow through major vessels, the heart and its valves, and muscle disfunction of the heart, off the flesh of a subject.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sensing device as above having a set of pliable conformance characteristics for coupling the sensing device to the flesh for maximum energy transfer.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a sensing device as above which can be sterilized and which has utility in operating rooms, intensive care units, and other environments where sterility is critical.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a sensing device as above which can be quickly connected and disconnected from electrical leads to create an easily disposable sensing device that can be used once and discarded.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention are set forth in the following description and drawings wherein like reference numerals depict like elements.